Halloween Punch
by Boudicca's Revolt
Summary: Rose accompanies her cousin to his department Halloween party and she has a bit more fun that she had anticipated.


Disclaimer: I own Joe Leandros, Sue and Martha. That's it. All of the other characters belong to JK Rowling. Enjoy!

"Come on Rosie! You have to go with me. Allie's visiting her dad-"

"I don't want to go Al." Rose Weasley was sitting in the kitchen of her brother's London flat, stirring a cup of tea. Her cousin, Albus Potter, had flooed her only moments before and his free-floating head was now hovering in Hugo's fireplace.

"Oh come on! You're only home for a couple of weeks and we haven't been out in ages."

"I don't want to go Al. It will be a bunch of boring Ministry pricks talking about files and elections."

"There's an open bar."

"Fine, if you insist." Rose rolled her eyes as Al grinned and let out a loud "whoop". "Stop it; you're embarrassing yourself. Now _please _tell me we don't have to wear costumes." Al looked up at her sheepishly. "Al . . . "

"I know, I know but it will be fun," he said, not sounding very convinced himself. "Look Rosie, I have to go and it would be a lot more fun with you there plus, did I mention the open bar?"

"Now you're just insulting me!" Rose swilled her tea, trying to look offended.

"Come on Rosie, favorite cousin in the world. You'll get to wear a slutty costume and I can guarantee you will be the most attractive one there."

"Yeah like that's difficult. Okay, I'll be there. When are we meeting?"

"Well the party starts at eight so-"

"So basically I should start drinking now."

"It's eleven o'clock!"

"Come _on _Al; I was joking for Merlin's sake. What are you going as?" Al blushed. "Oh no, this is going to be good." She raised her eyebrows at the thin twenty-something.

"Imgoingaslibatiusborage," he mumbled.

"What? I didn't quite catch that."

"I'm going as Libatius Borage," Al answered, averting his eyes.

"Who the _hell _is Libatius Borage?"

"He's the author of Advanced Potion-Making. He was an extremely important 19th century potions master."

"Oh Al . . . "

"Come on, what's wrong with that?" Al questioned shrilly

"Halloween is supposed to be _fun _Al! Do you remember what fun feels like?"

"Potions is fun! Just because I'm not romping all over the globe does-"

"Save it Al. Meet me in fifteen minutes at your parent's house."

"Why are we going _there_?"

"Well, I need to bring your extreme humiliation to the attention of your dad and we're going to find you another costume."

"Has Mum opened a dress shop without my knowledge?"

"Have you been in your attic Al? It's a gold mine."

"I don't think those are the words I would use."

"Al, it's fairly simple. If you want me to go to this sodding party, you will meet me at your parent's house in fifteen minutes. Now I have to finish getting ready." Al rolled his eyes but drew back his head from the fire.

Sixteen minutes later, Rose and Al were sitting in the Potter's living room. "So to what do we owe this pleasure?" Harry asked, sitting down in his easy chair. It was his first Saturday off in who knows how long and the look on Rose's face made him think he was going to enjoy it.

"Well Uncle Harry, Al and I are going to his department's Halloween party. It's a costume party and Al's costume was-" Al jammed his elbow into her ribs. "Ouch! Anyway, Al was _going _to go as Luciatus Borage-"

"_Libatius_ Borage," Al corrected, covering his quicklyreddening face.

"Who in Merlin is he?" Harry asked, chuckling.

"He made potions," Rose stated dismissively.

"He didn't just _make potions_! He happens to be a very important potions master and author-"

"Anyway," Rose interrupted. "Uncle Harry, we need Halloween costumes and since, well, your attic-"

"What exactly are you saying Rose?" Harry asked. "Are you saying that you want to use mine and your Aunt Ginny's clothes as _costumes_?"

"Well, yeah," Rose answered. Harry grinned.

"Fair enough; I have to respect your honesty. Just make sure you show me what you're taking and if Ginny asks, I was against it from the beginning." Rose jumped up from the sofa, pulling Al along with her. They jogged up the stairs, the stairs they had run up and down so many times in their young lives. These were the stairs down which Rose had fallen, earning herself a nasty concussion when she was five. These were the stairs up which both of them had pushed an eight foot tall gorilla manikin after a _very _powerful bout of Albus' accidental magic.

They entered the musty top room. Harry was a bit of a pack rat, a fact that never ceased to irritate his younger son or his wife. The room was piled high with dusty boxes and trunks. There appeared to be no organization at all. Rose, choosing to ignore Al's muttering, ripped open one of the boxes. "Oh this is perfect!" she whispered. She drew out Ginny's old Harpies uniform and then Harry's Gryffindor gear.

"Oh, that's even more of a stretch for me than Borage!" Al exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Come on Al. On Halloween you're supposed to be someone you're not. Being a famous potioneer is like me going as a vodka-obsessed reporter."

"What about you? You were on the house team."

"Yeah but I didn't go pro and my uniform wasn't quite this revealing."

"Oi, you're holding up my _mum's _uniform Rosie! She's my mum."

"Like it or lump it Al. If you want me to go, you will wear your dad's uniform and let me wear your mum's."

"Fine, I don't suppose this evening can get any more pathetic. At least I won't be dressed up as Adalbert Waffling like Joe."

"Who's Adalbert Waffling?" Rose asked, not quite knowing if she wanted the answer.

"He's the expert on magical theory."

"Need I remind you of your original costume?" Rose raised her eyebrows.

"Oh come on! Potions is way more cool than _Magical Theory_. I'd say that-"

"Please Al, please stop being such a geek. I'm beginning to lose respect in you."

Al rolled his eyes. "So should I come round to Hugo's before I go or do you want to meet at the Ministry?"

'We'll meet there. I have some work I have to get done."

"Thanks Rosie. I really appreciate it. I think you might even have fun!"

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Leave before I change my mind!"

That night, Al showed up at the Ministry at half eight. He was prepared to bet all of his galleons that his dear cousin would be even tardier. "Wow Al! Nice costume," Joe greeted. He was dressed in long, purple robes, Waffling's books held in one arm.

"Thanks. My cousin decided that I should dress as the impossible. She should be here in a bit."

"Well, I'm sure I'll see her," Joe replied warily. "There's Sue's "special" punch in the bowl over there." Joe gestured toward a rickety table in the corner of the room. It had a too-small black table cloth thrown over it, the edges barely creeping over the sides of the table. A large, elaborate bowl sat in the middle filled with a garish orange punch. There was a small plate of pumpkin-shaped biscuits sitting next to a tray of year-old Honeydukes Halloween sweets. Al made his way over and filled a black paper cup with punch. He hoped Rose would get there soon because he had no interest in staying at the Ministry all night.

She arrived fifteen minutes later looking ravishing in Ginny's pink uniform. As Al had anticipated, all eyes turned toward her. "Rosie!" Al greeted, waving her toward the table. She wandered over, tucking a strand of her long red hair behind her ear. 'There's someone I want you to meet." He led her by the arm to where Joe was talking to Susan, a co-worker of theirs. Al had known Joe, who was a handsome, tall, very Greek man, for a little over a year. He was a bit of a nerd but in Al's department the fact that he wasn't running around as Uric the Oddball, quoting from _Hogwarts: a History_ was something to brag about. Al hoped that Rosie and Joe would hit it off and that his friend could be a calming influence on his wild cousin.

Rose took one look at the awkward theorist and knew what Al was up to. What he could be thinking was another question entirely. "Joe, this is my cousin Rose Weasley. Rosie, this is Joe Leandros."

"How do you do?" Joe asked, extending his hand.

"Fine, thanks. How are you?" Rose asked, shaking his hand quickly.

"I'm . . . fine."

"Well, I need to go check in with Martha. She wanted a scone recipe of Allie's," Al stated, excitedly strolling to the other side of the room.

"Why do I have a sinking suspicion we're being set up?" Joe asked, running a gloved hand through his hair.

"Probably because my prat of a cousin was trying to set us up." There was a long pause during which both looked at anything but each other.

"So Al told me you're a reporter?"

"Yeah, they still haven't given me anything really important but it pays the bills. You're a theorist correct?"

"Yeah, I deal with mostly twelfth century stuff for the Ministry. Where are you heading off to next?"

"Singapore actually. There's a conference there that I'll be covering."

"That's interesting . . . this is rather awkward."

"I agree. How strong is that punch?" Rose asked, eyeing Joe's cup.

"Extremely, would you like a glass?"

"A vat would be lovely."

Joe chuckled. "I'll see what I can do." As he walked away, Rose caught herself eyeing the back of him. He was quite fit actually. Al could have tried to set her up with someone much worse. At the same time, well, it was _sweet _but she wasn't like Al. She had virtually no interest in settling down, especially not with a Ministry drone, even if he did have a nice ass and dreamy blue eyes.

Joe returned with a cup and the plate of biscuits. "They're horrible but I've had Sue's punch on an empty stomach and it doesn't lead to an enjoyable morning." Rose took the cup from him and downed it before munching on one of the stale biscuits.

"So Leandros, that's not a name you hear everyday." Rose could feel the liquor working its magic. Her shoulders unclenched and the kinks in her neck loosened. Maybe this would be a fun night after all.

"Yeah, it's Greek. My parents immigrated to England when I was six. Mum worked as a secretary in the Auror office and Dad ran one of the shops in Diagon Alley."

"That's very interesting Joe." Rose twirled a strand of her hair.

~One Hour Later~

"That was amazing," Joe breathed, pushing himself into a sitting position against the dull grey wall.

"Yeah," Rose breathed. They were in a very cramped broom closet just down the hall from the party. They sat, stunned, for what seemed like an eternity before Joe broke the silence.

"We should probably head back to the party. Al might start getting ideas."

"He's probably mailing out the wedding invitations," Rose whispered laughing as she pulled the top of Ginny's uniform over her head. Joe's face clouded.

"That's not what you-I mean we're not-"

"Don't worry Joe; I don't think that with this . . . _act_ you've proposed. Halloween is a night you can be someone else, have a little fun. That's all this was though, if any of my uncles find out, well . . . " she trailed off, enjoying the look of panic on the young man's face.

"I-I"

"Don't worry. Just put your clothes back on and come back to the party in ten minutes. Happy Halloween."

A/N: So this just popped into my head and I thought I'd write it. I really like Rose as a character and just wanted to have some Halloween fun. I hope you enjoyed! REVIEW!!! Oh, and check out my other story. I'm planning on updating it in the next couple of days. It's a bit less naughty and is a Christmas story


End file.
